Chapter 1 Flashcards
What is psychology?
Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour.
How does science create knowledge?
Science uses systematic observation and rational processes to create new knowledge.
How do scienticists seek knowledge?
Scienticists seek knowledge through a refined process of questioning.
What is scientific research?
Scientific research is a process of creating specific questions and then systematically finding answers. Scientific is a process of inquiry.
What does the process of inquiry generate?
The process of inquiry generates useful tools and products.
Do scientists thrive on new knowledge?
Yes
What do scientists study with a prepared mind?
Yes
How does scienticists make new discoveries?
Through active curiousity not luck.
What demands to tenaticity, intuition and authority make on the adequacy of information and the processes used to evaluate information?
Few
What is tenacity?
Tenacity is a willingness to accept ideas as valid knowledge despite contrary evidence and/or a lack of supporting evidence.
How does tenacity often exist?
Ideas have long been accepted and often repeated that may acquire an aura of unquestioned truth
What is intuition?
Intuition is the direct acquisition of knowledge without intellectual effort or sensory processing.
What is authority?
Authority is the acceptance of ideas as valid knowledge, because a respected source says they are valid.
What is rationalism?
Rationalism is a way of acquiring knowledge through reasoning.
What is the process of rationalism?
Existing information is carefully stated and logical rules are followed to arrive at acceptable conclusions.
What is logic?
Logic is systematic rules that allow us to draw accurate conclusions from a basic set of facts or statements.
What are the strengths of rationalism?
Rationalism strengths are analysis of proposition or theories.
What are the weaknesses of rationalism?
Its weakness lies in its application to external events.
What does the accuracy of conclusions?
The accuracy of conclusions depends on the reasoning process and the accuracy of the premises.
What is empircism?
Empiricism involves gaining knowledge through observation. There are two types of this:
1) Naïve empiricism: I wpn’t believe it until I see it
2) Sophsiticated empiricism: We can view something through its affects on other objects-like thermometers.
What are the two types of empiricism?
Naive empiricism and sophiticated empiricism.
Are empirical observations critical in science?
Yes, however others to know how facts go together or what they mean.
What elements does science bring together?
Science brings together rationalism, empiricism, employing rational logic and checking each step with empirical observation.
What does science usually start with?
Observation and description, in which they identify and observe phenomena and carefully record there details
What is prediction?
It involves finding relationships that are dependable enough that we can make an educated guess about what will happen to one factor by knowing what happens to another.
What is causation?
It is a step behind prediction. It allows us to make something happening as we know what will cause a change in a phenomena.
What is explanation?
It takes us to the next step of understanding how certain factors can change other factors.
What is application?
involves using our new knowledge to solve real-world problems.
What two schools dominated the early psychology?
Structuralism and functionalism
Who established the first psychological laboratory in Germany?
Wihelm Wundt
What did Wilhem Wundt study?
HE studied the structure of consciousness.
What was structuralism’s primary method?
Introspection.
What is introspection?
Introspection is asking participants to report on their mental experiences as they performed various tasks.
When did the shift from structuralism to functionalism occur?
By the turn of the 20th century.Functionalism is the function of the mind.
What is functionalism about?
Functionalism is about the function of the mind.
What questions were functionalists interested in?
Functionalists were interested in practical questions of education, training, treatment and child rearing.
What is psychodynamic theory?
Psychodynamic theory view behaviour as a function of complex and often contradictory internal influences.
According to the psychodynamic theory what are many mental proceses?
Unconscious and thus not within the awareness of people.
Who developed the psychodynamic theory?
Sigmund Freud.
Did Darwin’s evolutionary theory influence Freud’s ideas?
Yes
Which of Freud’s ideas were influenced by Darwin’s evolutionary theory?
He influenced Freud’s ideas including his work on the unconscious processes, the importance of dream, the child-to-adulthood continuity of emotional behaviour and sex as a basic human biological drive.
When and where did Gestalt psychology originate?
Gestalt psychology originated in Germany about 1912.
What did founders of Gestalt psychology believe?
Its founders believed that structuralists efforts to divide consciousness lost sight of the wholeness of experience.
What did behaviourism criticse psychology for?
Behavourism criticised psychology as too mentalistic and subjective.
What concepts in psychology did Watson critcise?
Watson criticised mentalistic concepts like mind and consciousness as meaningless non scientific carry overs.
What did Watson argue for?
Watson argued for replacing the psychology of consciousness with an objective psychology of observed behaviour.
When did humanistic psychology?
Humanistic Psychology emerged in the mid-twentifith century and was briefly influential.
What did humanistic psychology focus on?
Humanistic psychology focused on human conscious experience, creativity and personal growth and a natural tendency towards self actualisation.
What is self actualisation?
Self actualisation is the full expression of the human potential.
What is cognitive psychology?
Cognitive psychology is the study of perception, memory and learning.
What did cognitive psychology grow from?
It grew from early work on perceptual processes and verbal learning.
What borders does modern cognitive psychology cross?
Modern cognitive psychology crosses into the broader discipline known as cognitive science.
What is the ethical personal responsibility that researchers have?
That personal responsibility involves protecting those who participate in research and conduct and report research accurately and honestly.
